I once again have seen some movies so lets talk about them! And this also lines up well with Letterboxd Friday, though I don’t think I’ll finish this in time for a Friday post, but none the less, yay for me for watching more movies. Each time I think I have an eclectic selection of four, I somehow outdo myself. So here’s the last four films I watched. Three are older films and one is technically a new release.
The Color of Pomegranates (1969)
The only reason this even came to my attention was because I’m doing the 2026 Criterion Challenge on Letterboxd. One of the prompts was one of David Byrne’s (of the Talking Heads) Criterion Closet picks and this was one of them.
The Color of Pomegranates is a Soviet-Armenian film directed by Sergei Parajanov and is based on the life of 18th-century Armenian poet and musician Sayat-Nova. But please don’t misunderstand. Just because this film has a premise doesn’t mean it has a plot. This is one of the most avant-garde movies I’ve ever seen. This is the kind of movie that a film or art history major could write a term paper about. One of those movies where you and I could discuss what we think the film is saying and even if our answers differed, neither would be wrong.
So besides being a super art house film, there is more to not like about it. There are a few animal deaths in it and I hate to say that I don’t think they’re fake. The deaths are cruel, per say. The animals are slaughtered in a fashion that makes me think they were going to be consumed or that they were “borrowed” from a butcher or local village or something but, to some, that may not matter.
This is a weird film with some beautiful and startling imagery and a real focus on “the gaze,” like where are the characters staring and why? It’s the kind of movie I wouldn’t be shocked to see being screened at an art gallery. Watch at your own risk. This is a movie I liked but may never watch again.
8.5 out of 11
Axes and Os (2024/2026)
I found this movie through the new(ish) streaming service called Screamify. It focuses on indie horror and is only 2.99 a month so I figured, why not? The reason that this has two release years is because it hit a few festivals back in 2024 and then was shelved until it came out on Screamify this year. And if you know me, you know I don’t count festival releases as a true release date.
This movie had so much promise. This could have been really really cool but with a run time of an hour and ten minutes, it tries to do way too much in too little time. This could have been cool if one of the two storylines was taken out. We have the story of the slasher who kills people in the forest with axes and then we have the story of one of the main characters being something otherworldly. That’s not a spoiler as it’s in the premise.
The basic slasher story was okay, familiar but with some good kills, then in the mid third act we’re introduced to one of the girls being a monster and we get so little time with it, it makes me wonder if it was even worth it. This film was an hour and ten minutes and I wish it was an hour fourty-five because then they could have introduced the monster storyline in the second act so it actually means something.
This wasn’t bad though, it just wasn’t really that good. We should really remember to support indepentent cinema so I say that if you’re a slasher fan, to check it out. The more we support smaller creators and independent cinema the more we’ll get.
5.5 out of 11
Homefront (2013)
I’m a fan of Jason Statham. I feel a lot of his films are very similar yet I’m lucky in that I like those kind of movies. This film is kind of the same but I think it tries too hard with the plot and it makes it a bit too convoluted. A Statham film trying too hard with the plot? You heard it here first folks! We have Statham with two separate groups after him and if it had been narrowed down to only one, then the movie would have felt smoother. But we take a few breaks for plot development that takes us out of the action as the other group of antagonists do their thing and it wasn’t necessary at all.
The fight scenes, however, were great, but that’s what I expect from a Statham film. That’s really what he does best. I do think he’s a good actor because he knows what kind of roles he can play. He can do a deadpan comedy or action/drama. If you want to see him at his best then you should check out Guy Richie’s Wrath of Man.
But as for homefront, it’s not bad. It’s just sloppy it could have been so much better.
5 out of 11
White Chicks (2004)
Full disclosure. I’ve never seen this film all the way through up until now. I’ve seen most of it in bits and pieces but never in one fell swoop. Now that this film has reached peak admiration as a cult classic and an extremely memeable movie, I knew it was time to finally sit down and watch it.
Now this film isn’t good, but you know that going into it. Wayans brothers’ movies are their own genre. It’s a great reminder that not every film has to be peak cinema. That it doesn’t have to be good to be enjoyable. This film was hilarious and it actually holds up pretty well. Sure this film taxes your suspension of disbelief really hard, but that absurdity of it all is part of the charm.
What really saves this movie and keeps it relevant in the public consciousness are some of the memorable scenes. We have the two Michelle Branch Thousand Miles scenes, we have Terry Crews dancing, and all the scenes where they forget they’re supposed to be doint a female voice and say something funny. This film is quotable and is a modern classic for a reason.
7 out of 11
That’s my last four watched, I’m already halfway to my next four but in the meantime let me know, what have you watched recently?